You have the Cobweb houseleek, as I recall ... Sempervivum arachnoideum.

Once the offsets have grown roots of their own, the stolon connecting them to the parent plant withers away. At that time, it is easy to gently pull or pry them apart from the parent plant and pot them up individually.

Sometimes, it's easier to separate the offsets if the entire mass of plants is first removed from the pot. Then, the parent plant can be repotted, adding fresh soil around it, when all the offsets have been removed.

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams

Quick question:How can I tell which is the parent plant?Here's an image for you:

I was thinking about taking the one right near the top - the one where, in the middle, there is 3 in a row. Closest to you is a large one, and then going to the top left. Something like that, just to free up some space! It appears like there are two dead offshots coming out the side of the plant. they have brown near on their leaves...

EDIT: actually, repotting the whole thing sounds great! Questions:

- Can I use the same pot? - should i fill the bottom with gravel? - Will Cactus soil (commercial) be okay for them? - Should I water them after repotting the offshots?

I would guess that the one in the middle is the parent, because it's most common to place a plant in the center of a container when potting it up. Just a guess, though.

The two rather unhealthy looking offsets may be suffering because the plant is root bound. I'm not positive of that, but there are a lot of plants in that one small pot.

Commercial potting mix is fine. It's what I always use for cacti and succulents.

Yes, water the offsets after you pot them up, but let the soil dry before watering again.

I never put gravel or anything in the bottom of my plant containers. I use a piece of non-metal screening ... the kind they use for screen doors and windows ... in the bottom, so the soil doesn't get washed out of the pot and to keep insects from crawling in. Rocks actually don't do anything much to improve drainage, and in some cases can be detrimental to the plant. Their only real value would be to increase the weight of containers if you live in a very windy area.

Just for fun ( ), I thought you might like to see a picture of the flowers your Sempervivum will produce when they're about 4 years old. Unfortunately, they only flower once, then die, but you'll have new offsets every year.

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams

Any hardware store or big-box store, like Lowe's or Home Depot. Basically, any store that sells home-repair kinds of stuff will probably have it. The screening comes in rolls.

I had to replace the non-metal screening with aluminum screening in all my doors and windows, because my cats and dogs damaged it. I just saved the screening I removed, and use it for my plants. It's easy to cut to size and shape with a scissors. One roll will last forever.

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams

Kisal wrote:Any hardware store or big-box store, like Lowe's or Home Depot. Basically, any store that sells home-repair kinds of stuff will probably have it. The screening comes in rolls.

I had to replace the non-metal screening with aluminum screening in all my doors and windows, because my cats and dogs damaged it. I just saved the screening I removed, and use it for my plants. It's easy to cut to size and shape with a scissors. One roll will last forever.

Okay, I think that's all the questions I can think of...

I'll let you know how it goes. I'll get a second(maybe a third) pot the same size of the one there.

About the soil, I don't use Miracle-Gro products. Not because I don't approve of them, but as a result, I don't have any first-hand information about the quality.

I think yours will do fine. The critical thing will be for you to remember that the soil might not drain as well as a better, grittier cactus/succulent mix, so you'll want to be very careful not to overwater.

I don't know where you're located, so be aware that direct sun all day in very hot weather can burn these little succuents. Morning sun is always a safe bet.

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams

Kisal wrote:About the soil, I don't use Miracle-Gro products. Not because I don't approve of them, but as a result, I don't have any first-hand information about the quality.

I think yours will do fine. The critical thing will be for you to remember that the soil might not drain as well as a better, grittier cactus/succulent mix, so you'll want to be very careful not to overwater.

I don't know where you're located, so be aware that direct sun all day in very hot weather can burn these little succuents. Morning sun is always a safe bet.

I don't use anything fancy. There's a locally-owned sort of department store near me, that sells a little bit of everything ... hardware, packaged foods, clothing, etc. I go there often for other things, so I just use the brand they sell, which is called "Nature's All Natural Cactus Mix." The label says it contains pumice, compost, and forest humus. It has a nice, very coarse texture. I use it for all of my plants that need rapid-draining soil. They seem to do quite well in it. I use this company's products for all of my ornamental plants.

The company is Sun Gro Horticulture, and they make a lot of organic planting mixes, as well. The Nature's line isn't organic, though, despite the word "Natural" on the label.

Last edited by Kisal on Mon Jun 14, 2010 1:55 am, edited 3 times in total.

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams

That's something I rarely do. I usually just wait for signs of new growth.

Some people give a gentle tug on the plant, but with cacti and succulents, the soil is usually dry and loose compared to regular potting soil. I'm always afraid I'll disturb the plant too much, or pull it right out of the soil. That would just be a set back for the plant, so I just bide my time and wait.

Don't water the newly planted rosettes ... including the parent plant ... for quite awhile. The dryness encourages root growth, and helps them become established. That's about the best I can tell you.

ETA: You could just buy a bag of perlite and mix a bunch of it in with the Miracle-Gro soil you have. You could also add some sand, or some aquarium gravel. If you choose the latter, see if you can find some that is a medium-fine texture.

This is another good brand. I forgot that I have a bag of it, too:

The image below is what a good cactus/succulent soil mix should look like. The large white 'rocks' are about 1/4 to 3/8 inches in diameter. All the white/grayish things are perlite, so that will give you an idea of how much to mix with the soil you have.

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams